At the end of the opening act, a Renaissance music concert will be performed by the Contrapuntum group in the cistern room.
In Alicante, the memory of a notable Renaissance figure returns to life through an extensive presentation that blends music, history, and scholarly restoration. The event introduces a nuanced portrait of Gosalbes de Cunedo, a Latin Renaissance poet, physician, and 16th‑century writer who left behind a body of work that is both scholarly and richly cultivated. His life intersected with military campaigns, and his reputation persisted into later centuries before gradually fading from both academic attention and popular memory. The available writings are entirely in Latin, and they stand out for their breadth, erudition, and polished style. Contemporary scholars have devoted themselves to reviving his legacy, translating his Latin prose and verse, and presenting his contributions to a modern audience while preserving the integrity of his original language and ideas.
Organized by the Municipal Department of Integrative Heritage, the exhibition presents thirteen visually designed panels accompanied by images. The texts accompanying each panel are rendered in Spanish and Valencian to reach a broad regional audience, ensuring accessibility without sacrificing linguistic fidelity. Each panel closes with a concise excerpt from Gosalbes’ writings, chosen to illuminate the panel’s overarching theme and invite deeper engagement with his thought. The exhibition expands its textual core with a curated array of artifacts, including rare 16th‑century books and original manuscripts lent by the exhibition curator. An audiovisual piece adds another layer of interpretation, and a specially commissioned model of the ship San Mateo is displayed to evoke the maritime world in which Gosalbes operated. The narrative anchors Gosalbes within the era of Felipe II and the era’s naval ventures, illustrating how his life intersected with the broader currents of the Invincible Armada and the political currents of the time. The display invites visitors to trace the connections between literary production, Renaissance science, and the social networks of early modern Alicante, offering a tactile link to a distant century while foregrounding the enduring value of Latin literature and historical memory.